Chicago Marathon officials to announce registration plans Feb. 28

Chicago Marathon officials said registration will not reopen until at least late next week after web difficulties caused registration to be suspended Tuesday, hours after opening.

Marathon officials said they would provide a plan for registration on Feb. 28.

Fifteen thousand entries to the Oct. 13 race remain. The citywide race will be capped at 45,000 participants.

"Our team is working around the clock to determine a timely, fair, and effective registration solution to fill the remaining 15,000 entries without further technical complications,"a marathon spokeswoman said Thursday afternoon.

The 36th annual marathon opened registration at noon Tuesday, and runners complained they had trouble signing up for the 26.2-mile event.

A marathon spokeswoman told RedEye that race registration was working earlier in the day but running slow. Officials suspended registration at about 3:30 p.m.

David Blumenthal, 30, said he spent 45 minutes of his lunchtime refreshing the registration page. He finally got through--and then he was charged twice. This will be the Lincoln Square resident's first Chicago Marathon. He described the registration process as frustrating.

Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey (D-Chicago) said it took him 50 minutes and multiple reloads of the registration page to register for the Chicago Marathon, which he called an eight-month goal.

Michael Gann of Alabama had better luck. He started trying to register at 12:40 p.m. and was able to finish the process at 12:55 p.m. Gann said this will be his fourth Chicago Marathon.

The race sold out in six days last year, a record. Registration is first come, first served. The cost to register is $175 for U.S. participants.

Marathon officials said refunds have been issued for 99 percent of the runners who were charged twice during registration.

Runners who believe they may have been charged twice can contact the Bank of America Chicago Marathon at office@chicagomarathon.com or contact the registration provider Active.com customer service line at 877-228-4881.